Feb. 11
10:47 am JST

No, a republic is the best form of government.

The key difference between a democracy and a republic lies in the limits placed on government by the law, which has implications for minority rights. Both forms of government tend to use a representational system — i.e., citizens vote to elect politicians to represent their interests and form the government. In a republic, a constitution or charter of rights protects certain inalienable rights that cannot be taken away by the government, even if it has been elected by a majority of voters. In a "pure democracy," the majority is not restrained in this way and can impose its will on the minority.

Feb. 11
05:01 pm JST

There is no form of government that is one size fits all, its a matter whether it goes well with the country. A state that needs a strong leadership would be better off having a limited democracy while a self-disciplined country would be a great fit for democracy. Take Singapore for example, the country's democracy is limited (political censorship, strict laws, etc) but the system works well with the country while Scandinavian countries are democratic utopias that are hard to replicate in other parts of the world. Why? Political culture. A country with an unruly political culture is not fit for a democracy while a country with a mature political culture would become a shining model of it.

Feb. 11
05:18 pm JST

I used to think democracy was the best form of government but I’m losing faith in it. I suppose a benign dictatorship is impossible.

The U.S. system would be ideal if the electoral college didn’t decide the winner rather than the popular vote. Also, campaigns there start too early. Now, 20 months before the election, many Democrats are announcing their candidacy. Think of all the money that will be wasted on those who have to drop out of the primaries next year. I’d like to see primaries abolished. Let each party decide its candidate at their conventions three months before the election.

The parliamentary system in my own country Australia, and Britain used to be functional, but now prime ministers are replaced by backroom backstabbing and you end up with someone whom the people didn’t vote for as PM. Britain is a mess because of Brexit. Germany and France aren’t doing well. Japan is factional politics, so it’s not much of a democracy.

Feb. 11
05:50 pm JST

Feb. 11
07:15 pm JST

The U.S. system would be ideal if the electoral college didn’t decide the winner rather than the popular vote.

But if we didn't have the Electoral College, California would have given us Hillary Clinton for the rest of the country. Hillary got 4.27 million more votes than Trump in California, giving her more popular votes nationwide. Take away California and Trump got more total votes in the other 49 states.

Our forefathers in their wisdom wanted to promote fairness from a regional perspective. Individual votes count, but in a way that is represented by states. This prevents 2-3 very large states from overwhelming the popular vote count so that a greater portion of the country can be represented by the government.

Feb. 11
08:52 pm JST

Take away California and Trump got more total votes in the other 49 states.

yet states like NY & CA which represent over 20% of the US economy seems to not be represented by the government favouring the smaller states in both population and wealth. Theres a reason a large percentage of the US population choose to live in those states.

Feb. 11
10:41 pm JST

*"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…"*

Feb. 12
12:56 am JST

Lostrune2, you beat me to the Churchill quote, but it is still valid, what ever problems countries around the world may or may not be having it is still the only valid representation of the will of the people. Imposing constraints merely distorts this, while I don’t usually comment on USA politics but from a democracy point of view rather than a tribal political one, if the majority of US citizens voted for her then Hillary is the choice of the majority (whether you like her or not) and it is a distortion of democracy if the system is so structured to alter the result. If the will of the majority elects a bad choice it is part of the learning curve of being a good and functioning citizen of a democracy, you learn the consequences of your actions and have to live with it.

Feb. 12
01:19 pm JST

Feb. 13
10:14 am JST

@FizzBit

Why does man always succumb to central governments. There is no need for central governments anymore. Shouldn’t that be the question?

I think a large number of people are lazy and would rather just have some distant, big government look after them and do their thinking for them. Small, decentralised local government is perceived as taking a lot more effort, partly because the accountable people are physically closer to their communities and can't blame some big distant power when things go wrong.

Feb. 13
11:09 am JST

Feb. 13
11:43 am JST

A Constitutional Republic is best, as the Founders of the USA created it.

Then why is the US a political disaster right now? The US doesn't really rank at the top of the world for much more than army size, and money. Quality of life and happiness indexes have America not near the top. So if a Constitutional Republic is best, why is the country a political mess, and why does it not rank higher in happiness and quality of life indexes?

Feb. 13
05:27 pm JST

I think a large number of people are lazy and would rather just have some distant, big government look after them and do their thinking for them. Small, decentralised local government is perceived as taking a lot more effort, partly because the accountable people are physically closer to their communities and can't blame some big distant power when things go wrong.

Feb. 13
07:21 pm JST

Feb. 13
11:48 pm JST

I think it is, but it also depends on the people. If the people are apathetic, easily led, immature or just plain stupid, then it just becomes a dictatorship or no better than a communist or facist state. I don't need to provide any examples, now do I?

Feb. 15
02:54 am JST

SerranoFeb. 11 07:15 pm JST

But if we didn't have the Electoral College, California would have given us Hillary Clinton for the rest of the country.

Except for Missouri, Trump didn't win another populous state by double digits. Clinton won a dozen states by double digits, including California, NY, NJ and Massachusetts. Clinton won the popular vote by more than 3 million votes. Explain to me again how the Electoral College is "fair." Since 2000, it has given us the two worst presidents in our history. The EC was bad old backroom horse trading as a sop to the slave states. It is anti-democratic and needs to go.

Feb. 15
10:40 am JST

In my understanding, “democracy” refers to the principle that a community of people ought to govern themselves rather than be governed by an aristocracy or any other small fraction of the population.

On the other hand, as soon as one considers “government”, how the principle of democracy is to be achieved is the question. Hence, some will favor, for example, a republic - a representative form of government - or a direct democracy.

As to which one, or any other, is to be employed depends on the size of the community. The latter might work on the village level, while the former is more practical on the national level.

So, to clarify my initial response to the question, democracy is the best principle on which to base a republican form of government.

Feb. 16
01:09 am JST

Democracy is an idea, not a practice, in the same way that Socialism is not a bad idea, but never works because you cannot by definition have a leader. The demise of the idea of democracy was slightly slower, but when the end result is someone like Trump, clearly we still lapse back to dictatorships when a so-called leader smells power.

Feb. 16
03:27 am JST

Feb. 16
06:29 am JST

The link is right there in the first comment.

The explanation in that first post seems to me to be responsible for the entire mess that America is in right now, so I can’t see that a Republic sounds appealing. I’s rather choose a democracy with a high quality of life and high happiness index like Canada.